Contact Update

The contact update step modifies a contact’s fields as part of an Automation. You can update a contact’s name, subscription status, or custom properties. Common use cases:

Enrich profiles: Copy event data into the contact record.
Set flags: Mark contacts as VIP, or churned based on their activity.
Sync properties: Keep custom properties up to date as events flow in.

How it works

Using the dashboard
Using the API

Add an Update contact step and update the fields you want to change.

Add a contact_update step to your Automation’s steps array.

import { Resend } from 'resend';

const resend = new Resend('re_xxxxxxxxx');

const { data, error } = await resend.automations.create({
  name: 'Enrich contact on signup',
  steps: [
    {
      key: 'start',
      type: 'trigger',
      config: { eventName: 'user.created' },
    },
    {
      key: 'update',
      type: 'contact_update',
      config: {
        firstName: { var: 'event.firstName' },
        lastName: { var: 'event.lastName' },
        properties: {
          company: { var: 'event.company' },
          vip: true,
        },
      },
    },
  ],
  connections: [{ from: 'start', to: 'update', type: 'default' }],
});

Dynamic variables

Each field value can be a hardcoded value (string, number, boolean) or a dynamic variable reference using the { "var": "..." } syntax. Variable references use dot-notation with one of these scopes:

event.*: references a field from the triggering event payload.
contact.*: references a field from the current contact record.

For more help working with variables in templates, see the Send Email step documentation.

{
  "key": "update",
  "type": "contact_update",
  "config": {
    "first_name": { "var": "event.firstName" },
    "last_name": { "var": "event.lastName" },
    "properties": {
      "company": { "var": "event.company" },
      "vip": true
    }
  }
}

Configuration

config.first_name

string | object

The contact’s first name. Accepts a hardcoded string or a variable reference.

config.last_name

string | object

The contact’s last name. Accepts a hardcoded string or a variable reference.

config.unsubscribed

boolean | object

The contact’s unsubscribed status. Accepts a boolean or a variable reference.

config.properties

object

A map of custom contact properties to update. Keys correspond to your Contact Custom Properties. Each value can be a hardcoded value (string, number, boolean) or a variable reference.

Example

{
  "key": "update_contact",
  "type": "contact_update",
  "config": {
    "properties": {
      "company": { "var": "event.company" },
      "vip": true
    }
  }
}

​How it works

​Dynamic variables

​Configuration

How it works

Dynamic variables

Configuration